


those warm feelings

by Shaleschnueffler



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Awkward Castiel (Supernatural), Awkward Dean Winchester, Awkward Kissing, Awkwardness, Castiel is trying so hard, Castiel/Dean Winchester One Shot, Dean Winchester Teaches Castiel, Dean Winchester is Not Heterosexual, Dean is so considerate, First Kiss, Fluff, Fluff and Humor, He really doesn't give a shit, Heart-to-Heart, Late Night Conversations, Late at Night, Love, Love Confessions, M/M, Memories, Oblivious Castiel, One Shot, Sam Winchester is So Done, Sequel, a lot of thoughts, and patient, somehow??, thoughts, two parts, why is that a tag
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-30
Updated: 2018-10-30
Packaged: 2019-08-07 10:24:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,830
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16406630
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Shaleschnueffler/pseuds/Shaleschnueffler
Summary: Again, they're having a late night talk.Again, they're talking about human love.Again, Cas is trying to understand.For the first time, he's confessing.Or: Dean recaps some stuff he's gone through b̶̶e̶̶c̶̶a̶̶u̶̶s̶̶e̶̶ ̶̶o̶̶f̶ with Cas while they are having one of the infamous half-drunk late night conversations, resulting in a lot of awkwardness (plus an awkward first kiss, and a small sequel/extra part/bonus chapter/thing).





	1. deep blue ocean eyes

**Author's Note:**

> Welcome to my first ship-related work in the SPN fandom.
> 
> Since I've only just started watching season 6, I'm still not quite sure about this ship but I think it's somewhat appealing to me.
> 
> I love Cas and h̶̶e̶̶ ̶̶d̶̶e̶̶s̶̶e̶̶r̶̶v̶̶e̶̶s̶̶ ̶̶a̶̶l̶̶l̶̶ ̶̶t̶̶h̶̶e̶̶ ̶̶l̶̶o̶̶v̶̶e̶̶ ̶̶i̶̶n̶̶ ̶̶t̶̶h̶̶e̶̶ ̶̶w̶̶o̶̶r̶̶l̶̶d̶ I really needed another ship besides Klance in VLD in my life, so...here we go, for the first and maybe last time, with a short - I'd even say miniature (that plan didn't work out.) - Destiel one shot (the last time I said something like that, I uploaded 4 more fanfictions a half year later so be prepared).
> 
> I don't know how this thing went from being a barely 1k words one shot to this messy piece of thoughts, actions, and memories randomly mixed together.
> 
> Feel free to leave kudos or comment if you liked it!  
> *Insert OOC and "English is not my first language" warning here*
> 
> And enjoy!

Sam had been fast asleep in their motel room when Castiel had suddenly shown up right beside Dean, taking the half-drunk hunter by surprise. The shock, however, hadn't lasted long, and shortly after, the angel had helped Dean gather up the few bottles of beer that hadn't been emptied just yet, and had zapped the both of them elsewhere - into the room next door, to be exact, that - luckily - hadn't been occupied.  
  
They had opened bottle after bottle then, enjoying each other's company after Dean had ensured that Castiel hadn't come here to inform them about something important but simply because he had felt like spending time with Dean - hearing Cas say this exact thing had made the hunter's lips curl up in a soft smile, and according to the proud gleam that had flared up in the angel's eyes for the fraction of a second, he had been more than happy about the fact that he had managed to make a smile flash over Dean's face. Although he probably hadn't quite understood _how_ exactly he had done it.  
  
Casually sipping their beer, they had started to talk about this and that, everything and anything; and _of course_ , their late-night talk had ended up in yet another conversation about human emotions and behavior until at some point, they had hit the topic 'love' once more - Dean had seriously stopped counting the times he had tried to explain the whole matter to his angel friend -, because _again_ , Cas had asked about it, questioning and doubting every single thing concerning human interactions with that typical frown on his face.  
  
And _again_ , Dean had immediately declared that he was willing to explain it all from the start because he just couldn't say no to Cas' unintentional, yet heart-melting puppy eyes.  
Even though his wording could only be considered "worse than horrible", and about 30 percent of what he had said had passed right through Castiel since he still wasn't anything near familiar with most of the jokes and examples that Dean gave.  
  
Despite the numerous opportunities to throw in "I don't get that reference" complaints and "Why would anyone do that?" questions, Cas had kept quiet most of the time, attentively and closely listening to Dean's kind-of-monologue while occasionally tossing in a comment or two when things hadn't seemed clear to him, or when he had wanted to make sure that he'd understood everything right.  
  
Cas had asked how exactly love emerged, why it existed and how one could possibly recognize - "detect" - it, and Dean had tried his best to make it all clear to his friend.

  
He would have been lying if he had said that he wasn't impressed by Castiel's considerate and curious, if unusual, behavior.  
  
He had talked about the importance of something good and comforting in a world filled with violence and sorrow, had gone on and on about love on first sight and the kind that needed years to develop and arise; and Cas had listened through all of it, intently leaning forward and occasionally nodding in stern comprehension.  
  
It had been hilarious, to say the least. And kind of adorable, in a weird way.  
  
Until they had broached the topic of how you could possibly tell whether you were in love with someone. Dean had had to think about that for a short period of time but once he had _started_ talking, he _hadn't stopped_ for _minutes_ ; continuously going on about the typical butterflies in the stomach - he had made sure to explain this idiom to Cas the second he'd said it out loud -, the sudden self-consciousness that you felt when around that person, the rapid heartbeat and the sweaty hands, the warmth spreading in your body from within, the way that person could always make you smile,...

  
He had mentioned it all, really.  
  
At some point, though, he interrupted himself, noticing that Cas had apparently ceased listening to him and was now blankly staring right through Dean, seemingly lost in his own thoughts. The hunter jumped slightly when Castiel raised his voice again, words slowly and pensively cutting through the silence that had settled down.  
  
\- "That means the warm feelings I have experienced in your presence are those of affection."  
  
Dean's eyes widened in surprise at the words that the angel blankly thought out loud as if they meant nothing, as if talking about a _cooking recipe, for fuck's sake._  
He was thrumming his fingers on his knee, in time with his pounding heart when his eyes met Castiel's again; and he couldn't help but repeat what his friend had just said, solely to be completely sure he'd understood him right; scared of getting his hopes up, and be let down in the end.  
  
\- "You got...warm feelings?"  
  
\- "Yes. Why, is that important?"  
  
He lowered his gaze as his tender smile grew wider, stifling a soft chuckle before looking back up then, right into Castiel's face who had a small smile on his chapped lips, despite the puzzled expression. This exact thing had happened so many times now, that Dean was more than used to it already - Cas smiling, or even laughing, about a joke or a situation without knowing _why_ he was laughing, simply because everyone else was.  
  
At first, Dean had merely considered Castiel an uptight Angel of the Lord, serious and stuffy at all times, strictly and mindlessly following orders without _'wasting time'_ on the enjoyable things in the world, but the longer he had been around - and with - him, the clearer it had become that Cas was simply a guy who had been alone all his angel life, who had never made contact with humans before --"So you could say I was... _your **first** ,_ right?" - "I suppose." - "...- _God dammit, Cas_."-- but who was still trying his hardest to fit in and get along, although his success ratio wasn't as marvelous as it could be.  
  
And yeah, Cas _was_ a pain in the ass sometimes, and more of an annoying child than an angel most of the time; and yes, he _had_ fucked up a lot of their cases by straightforwardly telling people about his identity, demons, the apocalypse and basically _everything_ people _shouldn't_ hear about, more often than Dean had thought was even possible - he would probably be able to go on and on about all the times Cas had unknowingly screwed things up and then left _Dean_ to fix the mess that _he_ had made.  
  
But that was what made Castiel Castiel.  
  
That was what made him unique.  
  
_Hell_ , they had been chased through a whole town by the police once because Cas had _explicitly_ informed the doctor about his angel entity and the werewolf they'd been after, instead of pretending to be a classified agent as priorly discussed.  
  
Cas was presumably the _least reliable person alive_ \- Dean would never forget that one time when they had confidently left to hunt a creature they hadn't ever encountered before; unconcerned, because Cas, with a serious look on his face, had told them that _"any weapon will slay it"_ ; but when they had talked to him again later that night, flaming mad as they had only just managed to escape death back at the place, he had simply stated that they had _"only asked for the weapon itself, not the material it is made from"_.

They had spent hours yelling at Castiel who just hadn't wanted to accept that he had been responsible for this wash-out of a hunt. Even now, he still wouldn't admit it.  
  
But that was what made him the person that he was.  
  
Cas was one of the most _hidebound_ and _pessimistic_ people that Dean had ever met, _for fuck's sake_ ; he lost hope when something, _anything_ , didn't go according to plan, and he took the most _obvious_ idioms literally - when Dean had informed him that someone had _'pulled his leg'_ at some point, Cas had lowered his eyes for a second to questioningly study his legs before directing his gaze at the brothers again, brows deeply furrowed in a frown; and even Sam, no matter how considerate and courteous he was, had simply been too distraught and on edge with Castiel to explain the phrase to him.

A few hours later, when else had been fast asleep already, Dean had expounded the idiom's meaning to Cas, who had then spent almost five whole minutes quietly thinking about it until eventually, the words "That is stupid." had left his mouth.  
  
But that was what Dean loved about him.  
  
He had softly laughed at it, back then, and looking up into Castiel's dead serious face had only made it worse. He had needed _minutes_ to pull himself together again but once he had, he had locked eyes with the angel, returning the shy smile that had played on Castiel's lips.  
  
Right now was just like that night, he figured; with that tender smile directed at his friend who was still sitting in front of him, hands folded in his lap, piercing gaze sternly set on Dean; in the same way he had smiled at him back in that small motel room somewhere in Ohio.  
  
\- _"Dean."_  
  
The calm, but urging voice made him snap out of his line of thought; and he realized that he had been sitting for at least two minutes without saying a single world.  
And so he said the first thing that came to his mind.  
  
\- "Me too, Cas."  
  
It was only a breath, a toneless laugh; the situation seemed so surreal to him, so off, so _unnatural_ , even for Dean's standards.  
But even if it was only a dream, _hell_ , he didn't care.  
  
He noticed Castiel's observant eyes following his every movement as he slowly lifted his right hand then, and put it down on the angel's shoulder, letting his thumb lightly brush over the hollow between Cas' throat and collarbone; although he probably couldn't even feel Dean's touch through the fabric of his white shirt and trenchcoat.

Visibly unconvinced of the hunter's action, the angel raised his eyes again, a questioning look on the frowning face as he tilted his head to the side, apparently waiting for Dean to elucidate the reason behind his uncharacteristic behavior.  
  
Having let his hand rest on Cas' shoulder for a few seconds in order to let him adjust to the sudden touch - and to savor the moment at its fullest, but nobody had to know _that_ \- , Dean now slid his hand around the angel's neck, firmly but gently holding him in place, thumb lightly caressing warm skin, feeling Castiel's steady heartbeat pounding beneath the pad of his finger.  
  
He breathed in, attempting to hide his nervousness before he let his eyes shut and carefully bent over, expecting Castiel to meet him halfway for some unknown reason.  
  
He didn't know what he had been thinking.  
  
Because at some point, when he was leaning forward so much that it started to get uncomfortable, his green eyes snapped open again, and he found himself face to face with Cas, directly staring into deep blue eyes, with only a few inches of empty space between them.  
  
The blank expression mixed with a subtle hint of confusion was still present on the angels face, even more noticeable than before.  
  
\- "What are you doing, Dean?"  
  
Cas was looking at him, brows furrowed, obviously uncertain about his friend's behavior. Somewhat understandable, if you considered the fact that the hunter had given him more than just one stern lecture about personal space and privacy.  
  
Honestly, he _really_ didn't know what the hell he had been expecting from Cas.  
  
He opened his mouth to say something, to explain and justify his actions but he couldn't find the words to express what exactly it was that he wanted to say; still somewhat thrown off by the countenance he was facing.  
  
Out of words - and very much willed to put an end to this awkward, if hilarious situation -, he closed his mouth again and pulled back then, letting his hand slide off Castiel's shoulder to bury his face in his hands, body shaking up with laughter that he couldn't possibly hold back.  
  
Castiel was still looking at him with that same expression, eyes mercilessly set on him, and even though most people wouldn't have noticed a change in the angel's face, Dean could clearly tell that Cas appeared to feel sort of offended.  
  
\- "I don't understand", the angel deadpanned when Dean had fully regained his composure, and for the first time since he had started staring at the taller man a few minutes ago, he let his blue eyes dart down to his own folded hands resting in his lap for a split second before he met Dean's gaze again.  
  
\- "Cas, I'm not laughing about you."  
  
He wasn't sure if what he had seen in the angel's eyes had actually been embarrassment, but making clear to Cas that he hadn't done anything wrong had simply felt right to Dean in this situation.

And he had made the correct decision, judging by the way realization crossed over Castiel's face for a second.  
  
\- "...Oh."  
  
\- "I just...I tried to kiss you, Cas", he laughed, softly, and was met with another frown, causing him to go on. "'Cause, y'know, that's what people who like each other do."  
  
\- "But why didn't you just say that you wanted to--.."  
  
\- "Saying it out loud makes it awkward."  
  
\- "Ah."  
  
Dean was quite sure that he had made it all more awkward by _not_ saying something, but the alcohol had kept him from considering that Cas was an angel with little understanding of human behavior - and that he had never been kissed, therefore.

  
\- "So? May I?"  
  
\- "...Yes."  
  
He smiled when the angel softly, carefully, spoke that single word, and proceeded to shift forward a little to get closer his friend.  
  
\- "What do I have to do?"  
  
\- "Whatever feels right to you."  
  
And then he was bending over again, at eye level with Castiel who seemed to be incredibly uncomfortable but Dean didn't know how he could possibly tell his friend how to properly _kiss_. He could only _show_ him, if anything. And so he tried to do just that.

  
However, this attempt turned out to be just as bad of a bust as the first one, if not worse.  
  
The hunter had no clue how exactly Cas did it, but he somehow managed to smash his head against Dean's, who immediately pulled back, lifting his hand to carefully touch his hurting forehead as the pain spread out and turned into a noticeable headache.  
  
Knowing Cas, he had probably tried to copy the actions of some needy idiot character from some 'low budget, lower quality' TV show - or worse: a porno - he'd seen when Dean or Sam had done some channel surfing. Or when he had decided to turn on the television because the brothers had left him alone in the motel once again.  
  
It would at least explain the whole disaster.  
  
They should really tell Cas that TV wasn't close to real life in any way at some point.  
  
Right now was definitely not the time for that, though.  
  
\- "Ow, man. That hurt like a bitch."  
  
\- "My apologies, Dean, I don't know how to do this, I-"  
  
\- "Hey, hey, hey. Cas, calm down. It's okay. You can't possibly know how to do this, that was my bad. Just...relax. Okay?"  
  
Cas kept quiet for a few seconds, thoughtfully turning Dean's words around in his head, giving the hunter some time to overthink the whole matter.

Was he asking too much from the angel? Should they just take it slow for now? Start with holding hands? Maybe they weren't even meant to be, maybe Cas was-  
  
\- "Okay."  
  
Dean blinked. _Okay._  
  
\- "You don't have to do anything, now. Close your eyes if you wanna."  
  
He didn't close his eyes.

  
Soon after, Dean noticed that he should've _told_ Cas to do it instead of _offering_ it, because Castiel's expectant stare started to make him insanely uncomfortable.  
  
\- "...Okay, just...close your eyes, please. This is getting weird."  
  
The frown returned to Castiel's face at Dean's request - he hadn't even noticed that Cas had stopped wrinkling his brows some minutes ago -, but he complied and let his eyes shut without another word.  
  
Dean let his hand slide around the angel's neck again when Cas tensed up noticeably, hoping to somehow calm him down by showing him that he was _still here_ , that everything was okay; before he leaned forward _a third time_ \- when Dean had imagined their first kiss, he surely hadn't thought they would need three freaking attempts to get it right to at least _some extent_ -, making sure to keep his eyes open this time until his mouth had completely connected to Castiel's.  
  
Slightly parting his lips, he gently pulled his friend closer, letting Cas close the small gap between their mouths until he felt chapped lips on his own, and a whole swarm of butterflies started to stir in his guts as his heartbeat went up and his eyes shut, all by themselves.  
  
Never had he thought that anyone could make him feel this way again, after all that had happened, after all the pain that he'd felt, after all the problems and issues he'd fought, after the - literal - hell he'd gone through.  
  
And Castiel.

Castiel, the awkward, annoying, and nerve-racking Angel of the Lord possessing a _commoner's dead body_ , of all people, made him feel it all again.

Made him feel alive again.  
  
He realized that the only times he had actually kissed a man, he'd been drunk. Or making a deal. Or anything else, really; but he'd never kissed a man this deeply and tenderly, and _lovingly_ , although he'd known of his bisexuality for quite some time now.

Yeah, Castiel had explained that angels had no gender and all that shit more than once but his body, Jimmy, was a man of flesh and blood.  
  
He found himself not caring, and decided not to waste any more time on this unnecessary line of thought that was basically _predestined_ to get him nowhere new.

  
Cas' lips felt so good on his, so _right,_ and then he noticed the angel relaxing under his touch, and he saw it as a permission to go on, to pull Castiel closer; and so he took the opportunity and did just that.  
  
Cas tilting his head to the side all by himself took him entirely by surprise - in a good way, by all means -, and his smile widened as he copied Cas' actions and placed his free hand on the angel's shoulder.

  
His friend had made a move, and God, was Dean proud.  
  
Castiel was melting into the touch and although he wasn't doing a lot; sitting still, apparently not moving a single muscle, hands still folded in his lap; it was enough for Dean to notice that the angel wasn't reluctant of the touch, the kiss they shared, and so he decided to just keep going, to savor the moment and enjoy the warm feelings that spread out in his body, while gently caressing the nape of Cas' neck with his right hand.  
  
They didn't move. For at least a half minute, they sat there, bound together by only the soft touch of their lips, not even shifting an inch.  
It reminded Dean of the stupid freeze frames that he had had to do in school a long time ago; he had hated them with all his heart, but _this,_ _this_ was _different._ So much better. Comfortable. Pleasant, even.  
  
Of course, he felt the urge to take a step forward, to pull Cas into his lap, to feel the angel's hands on his neck and shoulders, to move his mouth against Castiel's, to make the most of this whole situation, to _glory_ in this tender touch, but he pulled himself together, forced himself to be patient and to take it one step at a time instead of jumping the gun.  
  
This time, he wouldn't mess up. He would give his friend all the time, every single second that he needed to get used to this, to adjust; Cas would set the pace on this one.

  
Dean couldn't and _wouldn't_ fuck up again.  
  
Gently moving his mouth against Castiel's for a last brief time, he made a move to retreat but upon pulling back, he noticed Cas chasing his lips with his own. He wasn't exactly sure whether the angel was doing it on purpose or simply by instinct, but regardless, Dean softly but firmly pushed him back at his shoulder while stifling a chuckle, earning a confused frown from Cas.  
  
\- _"Dean."_  
  
There was a warm hand covering his own all of a sudden, and his green eyes darted down to where Castiel was tightly gripping the left hand he had placed on his friend's shoulder. Returning his gaze to Cas' face, he found blue eyes basically _piercing his soul._

  
If looks could kill, he would be dead by now.

  
And he didn't know if he should feel flattered or simply scared to death.  
  
\- "I _really_ appreciate your eagerness, but let's take it slow for now, alright?", he said, softly, flashing Cas a reassuring smile. "I don't want this to be too much for you."  
  
\- "But-"  
  
\- "Nope. We're taking this slow."  
  
Their faces were still so close and Dean couldn't help but lean forward once more to press another soft kiss to Castiel's slightly parted, red lips.

  
Yes, maybe he should've explained the whole matter of bounds and constraints to the angel _before_ kissing him, but if he was being honest, he didn't exactly regret _not_ doing it, either.  
  
\- "There are a lot of limits to this, Cas."  
  
\- "I don't understand. Why would anyone set boundaries on something like this?"  
  
\- "Because there are things that both of us aren't ready for just yet. And we can't forget about our job, y'know. There are inappropriate moments to get close and comfortable."  
  
\- "That means I _can't_ kiss you whenever I like."  
  
\- "That's the logical consequence, yeah."  
  
\- "So it's like a ritual that you can only hold at specific times."  
  
\- "What? _No!_ It's just that...you _can_ kiss me as much as you like when we're alone but you can't just...show up and pin me against a wall when I'm questioning a witness or something, if you get me."  
  
\- "Why would I want to attach you to a wall?"  
  
Deeply breathing in and pulling his right hand back to pinch the bridge of his nose with two fingers, he held back the laugh that was threatening to escape his lips, in order to not make Cas feel left out again.  
  
\- "It's...forget it. You understood what I was getting at, though, right?"  
  
\- "I think so, yes. But how am I supposed to recognize an inconvenient situation?"  
  
_'You'll know'_ , he wanted to say but then he remembered the last time he had told Cas to trust his senses, and immediately swallowed the words that he had been about to say out loud. He hated to admit it, but Castiel's people skills could not be trusted at all - despite the adorable innocent way he was looking at Dean, head tilted to the side, curious and puzzled expression clear on his face.  
  
This angel would presumably not even hesitate to suddenly show up next to Dean and kiss him if he was _taking out a corpse_ at the moment, because as Dean had had to learn, Cas seemed to consider disemboweling bodies a _'non-inconvenient situation'_. He didn't know why he had actually been surprised by this back then, regarding the way Castiel had off-handedly gripped an _actual blood-coated human heart_ that Dean had disgustedly pulled out from a fresh corpse two minutes prior.  
  
\- "...Just ask when you feel like it. And I'll tell you. That okay with you?"  
  
\- "The only answer that you will accept is yes."  
  
\- "Exactly. So?"  
  
\- "Yes."  
  
\- "Nice."  
  
\- "...Is now alright?"  
  
\- "Sure."  
  
Cas returned the soft smile that the hunter flashed him before he proceeded to lean forward, hesitantly, almost shyly pressing his mouth against Dean's again.

 

  
Later that night, when Dean, too drunk to even walk straight anymore, collapsed into bed in the empty room, mumbling a quiet "Goodnight" to Cas, he fell asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow, expecting the angel to leave and do whatever he had to do - but Cas didn't.  
  
He sat down on the second bed in the room, legs crossed, deep blue ocean eyes observantly set on Dean. And he would keep sitting there all night, watching over the presumably most important person in his whole life.  
  
He would still be there in the morning, when Dean opened his eyes again and sat up, head pounding, still drugged with sleep, and he would walk over, and ask a quiet "Now?".  
  
And Dean would genuinely smile despite the throbbing headache and the sickness he felt, and he would lean over and feel Castiel's chapped lips on his, and he would taste the alcohol and hear his phone ring, supposing that it was Sam calling, but he would ignore it because there was something more important at that moment, something worth being savored and memorized.

 

Something beautiful.

 

  
When Dean had met Castiel for the first time, he had introduced himself to the hunter as an angel of the Lord. It hadn't taken Dean long to figure out that Cas was way more than just some feathery asshole.  
  
Yes, he was a trenchcoat fanatic and a horrible liar, and a pessimist on top of that; and yes, he was way too straightforward and simply unreliable, he was awkward, hidebound, annoying and embarrassing.  
  
But despite all that, he was kind-hearted; smart; brave; humble.  
  
He was loyal; trustworthy; honest.  
  
He was a friend, a fighter, and a soldier.  
  
He surely wasn't flawless.  
  
But he was trying his hardest to be.  
  
He had given Dean his faith back.  
  
And Dean?  
  
Everything Dean could do for Cas was teach him about humanity, confuse him with indecent references and jokes, make him suffer through pain and trouble.  
  
But he could give him love. He could make Castiel feel all the things that he deserved to feel.  
He could make deep blue ocean eyes light up in the darkest nights.  
  
And although that certainly wasn't a lot,  
it really was enough for them.


	2. a reason to smile

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> \- "There are a lot of limits to this, Cas."  
> \- "There are inappopriate moments to get close and comfortable."  
> \- "You can't just...show up and pin me against a wall when I'm questioning a witness."  
> \- "Just ask when you feel like it."
> 
> He should've known that Cas wouldn't care about anything he had said that night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> can't say i'm really satisfied with how this turned out but eh. it's okay i suppose. yeehaw.

There wasn't a lot of emotion to be seen in Dean's eyes when he picked up the bucket filled with holy water from where it stood on the dusty table near the door.  
  
The liquid sloshed from side to side as he put one hand below the bottom of the container to lunge out and throw a huge load of blessed water at the demon that was sitting in the middle of a devil's trap, tightly tied to an uncomfortable wooden chair. Its vessel had presumably died a few days prior already, judging by the deep wound they had discovered in the body's heart area about an hour ago.  
  
Therefore, they didn't have to be careful about what they did and said to the demon, but both of the brothers preferred to stick to the good old holy water and salt instead of referring to their knife or other inhuman torture methods.  
  
Right when Dean was about to hurl both water and bucket at their hostage, though, a flat voice sounded right next to his ear, raspily saying his name, so close to him that he could feel the warm breath tickle his face. It startled him, to say the least, causing him to jump and drop the bucket in the process. It hit the ground with a loud rattling sound, the water started to slowly but steadily spread out on the concrete floor.  
  
Clenching his fists and tightly shutting his eyes, Dean stood still for a few seconds, in an attempt to regain his composure, but gave up shortly after and simply spun around, not even trying to retain the furious expression on his face that could make an _angel_ shake in fear - not Castiel, though.  
  
Of course not Castiel.  
  
Because Castiel was just looking at him with this _unfairly adorable_ _frown_ ; standing so close that Dean could make out every single speckle in the beautiful eyes.  
  
His rapid heartbeat and his wet feet, however, reminded him of what exactly had just taken place, and so he inhaled loudly, about to give Cas yet another lecture about personal space - their relationship, if one could call it that, had made it all ten times worse if he was being honest - but as soon as he raised his voice, on the verge of yelling _"What the hell, Cas?!"_ right into the angel's face, he felt lips on his own.  
  
And he knew that he should push Castiel away, tell him to back off because he had to understand that he couldn't just do _whatever the fuck he wanted_ , but the second he cast a glance to the side where his brother was standing, wide-eyed, with his eyebrows raised in both surprise and confusion, Dean felt a weird feeling of satisfaction flare up deep inside.  
  
They hadn't told anyone of the thing that they had just yet, and Dean really hadn't wanted Sam to find out about it like _this_ but now - now it was happening, and somehow, he simply couldn't help but grin at the way that his brother was staring at them, gaping like a freaking _fish_.  
  
It probably wasn't even only the fact that he was kissing a guy, and an angel at that, but that he was kissing _Castiel_ of all people - or that _Castiel_ was kissing _him_ , therefore. _Castiel_ , the guy whose _"people skills"_ were _"rusty"_ ; the one who didn't even know how to _hug_ properly.  
  
Cas had his hands around the hunter's neck, firmly - a little too firmly, really - holding him in place, apparently not willing to let him go anytime soon, and somehow, he seemed more demanding this time, lips carefully moving against Dean's who spontaneously decided to play along. Just once. Just this time. He swore.  
  
While placing his hands on the angel's hips to pull his whole body closer, Dean quietly murmured "Inappropriate moment" against Castiel's lips, still not able to hold back the amused smile on his face. Casting a glance to the side, he noticed even the demon - or its vessel, a brown-haired woman - staring at them in shock out of the corner of his eye, and his grin widened.  
  
Seriously now, though - had Castiel practiced during the time they hadn't seen each other? It had only been three days since their last encounter, hadn't it? But he had gotten so much better at this...damn. It had always been Dean who had been in control of their kisses and touches; Cas being this straightforward was an entirely new thing, at least in terms of their relationship.  
  
He couldn't possibly say that he didn't like it.  
  
Sam clearing his throat made him snap out of this line of thought, though, and he raised his left hand, signaling his brother to wait just one more minute. And although _Sam_ seemed to accept the fact that Dean needed a little more time to... _greet_ Cas properly, the fourth person in the room appeared to be not even half as patient as the younger hunter.  
  
\- "Would you kindly _not_ shove your tongues down each other's throat?!", the female voice snarled, and Dean slowly pulled back from Cas before he turned around - of course, not without flashing him another soft smile -, one hand disappearing in the pocket of his jacket to retrieve the small container of holy water he had been carrying around.  
  
Spitting out a sickly sweet "Our tongues haven't even touched yet, bitch," he uncapped the bottle and threateningly tilted it from side to right above the demon's head. She was darkly staring at him, with a daring sardonic smile on her red lips.  
  
Adding a clipped "Also, I'm pretty sure this is none of your business," Dean mercilessly tipped the container over, watching the clear liquid pour out. As soon as the water made contact with the creature, it started to gasp and squirm in pain as the usual steaming sound began to fill the room.  
  
A few minutes of mindlessly emptying containers of holy water above the demon's head later, she finally started to talk about the thing that the hunters had wanted to know, resulting in yet another quick exorcism - those things had become a mundane everyday matter, honestly -, two content brothers and a semi-satisfied angel.  
  
Having sent the demon back to hell, they wordlessly packed up their stuff and left, Castiel trailing behind, to return to their current motel.

  
  
\- "When were you gonna tell me?", Sam asked, later, when they were back in their room and the sun had long set, without looking up from the laptop that was sitting on the table in front of him. He had started to do some more research, positive that he would be able to find out a lot more, now that they had the demon's information to work with as well.  
  
Castiel had left about a half hour ago when he had noticed that he wasn't needed anymore - and that both brothers were focusing on their current case, that - sadly - didn't leave any free time for Dean to spend with the angel.  
  
At Sam's words, the older hunter raised his eyes from the notebook he had been looking at, to cast his brother a questioning glance instead.  
  
\- "Tell you what?"  
  
\- "That you're a thing. You and Cas."  
  
\- "Never."  
  
Now Sam did look up from his laptop, eyebrows raised as he focused on Dean who was still on the bed, legs crossed, notebook loosely in his hand.  
  
He shifted slightly and shook his head in bafflement before he spoke up again, voice soaked in disbelief, casting Dean a sulky glare.  
  
\- "You... you weren't gonna tell me? Seriously? Dean, I'm your _brother_!"  
  
\- "I knew that Cas would let it slip at some point anyway."  
  
\- "And what if he'd kept it a secret for years?"  
  
\- "You know Cas. He can't keep secrets for long. Especially not one like this."  
  
\- "But _what if?!"_  
  
\- "Then I would have kept it as well."  
  
When Dean put the notebook away and laid down on his side, facing away from Sam, because he really wasn't keen on discussing that issue now, his brother was glaring at him, 50 percent bewildered, 50 percent disappointed.  
  
But as soon as Dean turned away, the irritated expression on the younger hunter's face was replaced by a soft, genuine smile that he just couldn't hold back.  
  
\- "Sorry, Dean. I'm...really happy, y'know. For you two," he sighed.  
  
\- "Whatever, Sam. Just go to bed."  
  
And Sam did.  
  
And Castiel was watching them both from above while they were lying awake and silently smiling to themselves, too proud to show each other the contentment they were feeling.

 

But at least for once, there was a reason to smile.


End file.
